Why Engagement Matters More Than Ever

Lately, I have been thinking about how difficult genuine engagement has become. We live in a world designed to pull our attention away from depth. Everything pushes toward speed, efficiency, immediate answers, and constant stimulation.

Let's be honest, with these distractions, focus is hard for everyone (if you're immune, please share your secret). 

The first word in the Fox Tutoring tagline is “engage" because meaningful learning begins with engagement. Engagement is like a muscle: it needs to be used to be strengthened, and it needs fuel to grow. To me, the first step toward engagement is connection. Because tutoring is deeply relational, students must first connect with the tutor, the material, and, eventually, their own thinking before fully engaging with the learning process. 

Here are some of the ways I connect with students: 

• Asking questions about their hobbies

• Checking in about how school is going

• Validating them if they share a win or a challenge

• Being curious about their ideas and opinions  

Using connection as a foundation, the next step toward engagement is curiosity: the fuel for growth. 

For students, it has become incredibly easy to complete assignments without ever becoming genuinely curious about their underlying ideas. Sometimes that happens. We aren't genuinely curious. However, I've learned from my own experience and the wisdom of others that genuine curiosity sustains us – personally and professionally. We shouldn't neglect curiosity just because it's not always required. For some students, this is not an issue – they are curious to a fault. 

Sadly, sometimes unwavering curiosity and imagination aren't valued in traditional educational environments: 

I have started noticing signs of disengagement among some of my most intellectually serious learners, such as occasional reliance on mediocre ideas generated by AI. Fortunately, these students usually quickly realize the limitations of this approach.

There are students who completely reject the use of AI, and those who instinctively reach for it at nearly every stage of the learning process. Personally, I think a balanced approach makes the most sense. This technology is not going away. Many workplaces already encourage or require its use, and in some contexts it can genuinely save time and improve efficiency. But it's true that, to be successful, students need to learn to think critically on their own. 

AI cannot truly engage with learning for us. It cannot replace the initial sparks of curiosity. It cannot substitute for intellectual confidence, patience, or genuine critical thinking. In fact, research shows that cognitive offloading to AI diminishes our critical thinking abilities (Psychology Today). Most importantly, it cannot replace the human connection that meaningful learning requires.

At the same time, technology is not always the main obstacle. Sometimes the deeper issue is a lack of curiosity itself.

One of the most surprising parts of teaching is realizing how possible it is for students to participate in the motions of learning without ever fully engaging with the process underneath it. A student can complete assignments, attend sessions, and earn strong grades while still remaining intellectually distant from what they are learning.

I see many students who want to do well, but who struggle to remain fully present with their ideas. This is sometimes because they have become so used to cognitive offloading that the muscle to engage is weak. Sometimes it's because the ideas challenge them, and they cannot open their minds to get past it. 

Yet engagement is uncomfortable sometimes.

It requires students to sit with difficult questions longer than they would like. It requires them to develop opinions, revise ideas, challenge assumptions, and stay focused long enough for genuine understanding to emerge.

One of the most rewarding moments as a teacher is watching a student stop asking, “What is the right answer?” and begin asking better questions instead.

Why does this character behave this way?

Why is this argument convincing?

What is this author really trying to suggest?

Why does this idea matter?

That's engagement. 

At Fox Tutoring, I encourage students to become thought partners with me. My goal is for them to build the intellectual confidence, curiosity, and grit necessary to take more ownership of their learning.

Engagement isn't just a muscle for learning; it's a tool for life. My teachers modeled curiosity and engagement for me, which helped me discover my passion for teaching and learning.  Having a career that one finds enjoyable and meaningful, even in the toughest moments, is a building block for a truly happy life. Students today deserve to find their passion, too, and we can help steer them towards it through connection, curiosity, and engagement. 

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